G1 Scorch

 

Robot Mode: Scorch as a robot somewhat emulates G1 Hot Rod in that he's pretty much an immovable brick except for the elbows. Also, he's got flames. He's flamey. He's actually pretty nicely detailed overall, sporting a good-looking head and nicely sculpted arms and legs. Okay, he can't move any of that (except the elbows), but he looks fine standing there, no doubt. His head kind of reminds me of later versions of Red Alert (the Cybertron version, for example).

Scorch is a Turbomaster, as such he carries the turbine from his vehicle mode as a weapon, which can fire yellow missiles. He can store his missiles on his legs. He could, of course, also store the weapon between his shins (the place it sits in vehicle mode), but that looks pretty ridiculous. Just keep it in his hand. So overall, Scorch looks pretty good and if you don't mind his lack of posability (a common trait in those days, one has to admit) he's a good robot.

Alternate Mode: I'm honestly not sure what model car Scorch transforms into. It looks a bit like a shortened pick-up truck with a big turbine added to the rear. The turbine is, of course, Scorch's weapon and it can fire the missiles in this mode as well. It can even angle upwards a bit to help Scorch fend off flying foes. The car also features some nicely sculpted details such as a wench up front, sculped doors, and transparent windows. So an overall good, solid car mode. No complaints.

Remarks: Scorch is one of the so-called "Generation 1.5", the final waves of G1 Transformers that came out exclusively in Europe after the line was already cancelled in the United States. As such he never did appear in any cartoon to my knowledge, but he was part of Dreamwave's third installment of the War Within comic book. He and his fellow Turbomasters were part of the last remaining Autobot resistance cell on Cybertron. Of course Dreamwave went bankrupt and the comic was cancelled after a mere three issues, so we'll never know what contribution Scorch made to the eventual liberation of Cybertron.

While not terribly exciting, Scorch is a good, solid figure with no obvious weaknesses except his lack of posability, but one has to remember that there really weren't all that many bendy Transformers in those days. So Scorch is a good pick for all fans of car-Transformers and fans of the European exclusives. While I wouldn't call him quite as good as his fellow Turbomaster Boss, he's still a pretty nice Transformer.

Rating: B